Dada Ganguly miss Sachin, others

Kolkata:Having retired from international cricket, former captain Sourav Ganguly on Tuesday said he would miss his colleagues like Sachin Tendulkar in the Indian team, but would root for them whenever he watched them on television.

“I will watch them on television. I will root for them,” Ganguly told reporters at his residence, when asked how he would be in touch with other players in the team, particularly those he had groomed for the big league.

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Asked about Tendulkar, with whom he formed one of the all-time best opening combinations in one-day cricket, Ganguly replied: “Sachin was very close to me. Lot of other boys in the team were also close. I will miss their company.”

Ganguly rated his debut Test, the experience of captaining India for the first time and his last Test at Nagpur, which ended Monday, as the three best moments of his glittering career.

Ganguly said he was now looking forward to some rest before deciding his future. “I have to wait and see how things unfold. Haven’t decided yet. There are lot of opportunities before me. I have to look forward,” he said at the media meet, a couple of hours after returning to his city following his retirement.

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He appeared pragmatic when asked if it felt bad to be called a former cricketer. “This day was bound to come one day. Maradona, Pelle, Gavaskar, they all had to retire. One day, Tendulkar will also retire. This is part of sports.”

On the celebrations Monday after the series win against Australia at Nagpur, he said: “Oh! It was geat fun. It was fantastic. It was a night to remember for all of us.”

Ganguly said the retirement of the seniors would provide an opportunity for the youngsters to take Indian cricket forward.

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Earlier, hundreds of fans mobbed Ganguly when he returned to the city.

Bouquets in hand, the cricket buffs shouted slogans eulogising the former Indian captain and constantly cheered “Dada”, “Dada” – as Ganguly is lovingly known.

They held aloft the tricolour, Ganguly’s photographs and waved posters thanking him for his contribution to the game, the country and West Bengal.

Ganguly, who arrived at the N.S.C. Bose International Airport in the evening, was received by Municipal Affairs Minister Ashok Bhattacharya and Cricket Association of Bengal joint secretaries Biswarup Dey and Arun Mitra.

 

England v South Africa 2nd Test

England v South Africa 2nd Test South Africa captain Graeme Smith admitted that drawing the first Test was a huge factor as his team thrashed England by 10 wickets at Headingley. The tourists batted for more than two days to survive at Lord’s, and then dominated at Leeds to win in four days. “It was important to get away with a draw, otherwise there would have been a lot more pressure on us,” Smith said. “We’ve improved in all facets but we’re not going to rest on our laurels, our motivation is to win the series.” England went into day four on 50-2, needing 262 to make the tourists bat again. All four South Africa pacemen weighed in with wickets as England just avoided an innings defeat, but Smith’s side needed just nine runs to clinch an emphatic victory. The win was Smith’s 28th Test victory as South African captain, one more than Hansie Cronje managed in his tenure. “I think it was a good exciting Test match but I think the key moments we played a lot better,” added Smith. A lot of our guys stepped up when they needed to and that was great to see. “We bowled nicely to restrict England and I think the batting performance after that was a credit to the guys. “It was fantastic to be 319 ahead and I think the guys today bowled really well.” Left-hander Ashwell Prince was once again a thorn in England’s side, following his century at Lord’s with another gritty innings, an accomplished 149. ” “I’m striking it quite nicely,” he smiled. “At the moment I’d say I’m batting as well as ever.” It was another crucial innings from Prince, who came to the crease with his team 127 runs behind at 76-3, and left with them 152 ahead at 355-5. “The crowd were right behind the bowlers and the atmosphere was quite intimidating. “We never felt we were on top of the bowlers, they kept coming at us and we needed to be disciplined throughout. “We had time on our side having bowled them out on day one so we didn’t need to up the ante, we had time to build an innings.” South Africa’s emphatic win gives them a 1-0 lead in the series with two matches to play, the next starting at Edgbaston on 30 July.

Source: BBC